MSRP $9.50 each
TwoBobs have made quite a name for themselves in the decal
business lately with high-quality decals of modern military aircraft
subjects. These Super Hornet sheets are fine additions to their
line.
Each sheet provides markings for 3 different jets.
The CAG bird (side number X00), and squadron commander's aircraft (side
number X01) are represented as well as a "normal" squadron airplane.
There are enough markings on each sheet to do the normal airplane and a
choice of one of the other "color" birds, but not both of the colorful
ones. Both sheets are of aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 11 aboard
USS Nimitz during 2002-2003. This was the second Super Hornet
deployment, and also the first cruise of the 2-seat FA-18F. Aircraft
from Operation Iraqi Freedom may be represented with these sheets, but any
mission marks added during deployment are not represented on the decals.
The decals are well printed by Microscale and responded
very nicely to the use of Superset and Supersol, as expected. They
are quite thin, though, which makes them somewhat easy to distort while
placing. They were also somewhat prone to folding over on
themselves. I ended up ruining a couple unique markings this way and
needed to purchase replacement decals to finish the models (my error, my
expense). I applied the decals over a gloss coat of Future, and had
no problems with silvering.
TwoBobs designed the markings with things like shadowing on
the numbers as separate overlay decals which eliminates registration
problems. There are a few confusing things with the decal
instructions, but careful study of the photos included should be
sufficient to sort it out. Both squadrons carried a star marking on
the fins, and these are included on the sheets. The placement for
this is omitted on the VFA-14 instructions, though. Examination of
the photos reveals that it should be on the inside surface of each rudder,
but you have to look for it to find this out. I'd also like to see
paint colors identified by a name, as well as FS number and paint
manufacturers stock numbers, mainly for convenience. Also, the
drawings in the instructions have an error, as the wing national insignia
are drawn inboard of the wing fold but are painted outboard of the wing
fold on real Super Hornets.
Overall, these decals are of excellent quality. It
almost seems a shame to use them on the existing Italeri Super Hornet
kits, with all the things that need correcting or updating in those kits.
At this writing, though, they are the only kits available. My
recommendation is to get the decals now, and hold onto them until better
kits are available (which might be by the time this appears in print).
A big THANK YOU to TwoBobs, both for the review samples and for producing
the sheets in 1/72 scale! |